“If you have to get off the plane in an emergency and in a hurry, if your tray table is down, you might not get out of that plane in 90 seconds,” which is the maximum length many regulatory bodies require evacuations to last, he said.
Article source: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/tray-tables-takeoff-landing-rule-explained_uk_6a300349e4b07f7766e9511a